Sherman Residence

Encino, CA

A three-acre site—once part of a commercial orange grove—still contains dozens of orange trees, as well as several magnificent sycamores and oaks.

Taking inspiration from the orchard buildings found in California’s “orange crate” past, the program is expressed as a series of cast-in-place concrete sheds. These sheds arrange in a horseshoe, providing privacy for the courtyard and focusing on the remarkable scenery. Interstices between sheds articulate transparently as lanterns, betraying their function as circulation and access points into the house. A continuous sheltering roof embraces and unifies these disparate shed and lantern elements.

Akin to a Japanese screen painting, the fenestration is designed to frame and flatten the landscape when viewed from the interior thereby bringing it closer.